Labour will lift £38 billion debt burden from students’ shoulders

400,000 university students will be freed from an average of around £27,000 debt this autumn if Labour is elected next month.

Tuition fees will be abolished from 2018 under a Labour Government. But Labour is also pledging to write off the first year of fees for students planning to start university this September.

Abolishing tuition fees will lift a total £38 billion in debt from fees over the course of the next parliament, before a penny of interest is added.

Tuition fees have trebled to over £9,000 a year since 2012 and graduates are being held back by starting their working lives saddled with debts averaging almost £45,000.

As well as abolishing university tuition fees, Labour will restore the maintenance grants the Conservatives abolished in 2016 and, under its transformative plan for a free National Education Service, will scrap college fees for adult learners.

Labour announces £1bn investment in a creative future for all

Labour will create a £1 billion Cultural Capital Fund to invest in the UK’s cultural infrastructure – across arts, music, film, theatre and culture – as it sets out plans to build on Britain’s status as a world leader in culture and the creative industries.

Labour will guarantee a Creative Future for All by:

• Establishing a £1 billion Cultural Capital Fund to support our world-leading cultural industries, which have been badly hit by Tory cuts.

The fund will be one of the largest arts infrastructure funds ever created. It will give the country’s creative sectors an opportunity to bid for extra funding and help the UK protect its status as a creative and cultural hub in the digital age.

It will protect and invest in live music venues in order to support grassroots and professional music and ensure there is a vibrant music industry in all parts of the country. Labour will review the business rates system and extend the £1,000 pub relief to help small music venues that have been hit by rate rises.

• Ensuring museums and art galleries remain free and invest in our heritage sector, which is central to the identity and economy of local communities across the country.

• Introducing a £160 million arts pupil premium for every primary school in England to boost creative education.

Under the Tories, the arts and cultural institutions have been forced to absorb huge cuts; under Labour, they will get the investment they deserve. The arts pupil premium will allow every primary school child the chance to learn an instrument, take part in drama and dance and have regular access to a theatre, gallery or museum.